“A Perfect Storm In An Imperfect World”: 9Rush’s Launch Comes At A Good Time

“A Perfect Storm In An Imperfect World”: 9Rush’s Launch Comes At A Good Time
Ally Burnie
By Ally Burnie
SHARE
THIS



On April 5, Nine will launch 9Rush, a new multi-channel in partnership with Discovery.

The channel will feature shows from Discovery’s brand, including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Science Channel.

While some have suggested 9Rush is Nine’s response to Seven’s 7Mate, Nine program director Hamish Turner told B&T it’s simply a way for the broadcaster to fill a gap in its content slate and target a specific audience segment more deeply.

“We looked at our suite of channels and our audience profile at Nine and asked, ‘what don’t we currently have in that mix and what do we want a little more of?”

“This is a very much male-skewing, 25-54 channel that targets real-life male content.”

Turner said Nine had tried to access Discovery’s content for a while, but that its deal with Foxtel was “pretty stringent”. However, after renegotiation of that deal, Discovery content became available to Nine.

“Content’s now become available quite quickly after sitting behind a paywall. An opportunity arose. It had content that sat in targeted audiences we wanted to build,” said Turner.

Currently, Nine’s digital channels include 9Gem, 9Go and 9Life and HD versions of Nine and 9Gem.

“We wanted a channel and more importantly, a pipeline of content, that could give us a guarantee for multiple years. What this does is provide a greater footprint across all audiences, and most specifically the ability for advertisers to target kind of males 25-54 […] and 9Rush is the place we increase that reach and do it efficiently.”

Discovery already has existing programs in Australia.

In December, Seven signed a deal with Discovery, moving its Food Network shows onto 7Flix and true crime content onto 7Two.

Foxtel also has a multi-year agreement with Discovery. The media company runs Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery Turbo, Animal Planet and a crime network Investigation Discovery.

However, according to Turner, there will be no content crossover between the channels.

When asked if any content on 9Rush would be locally produced, Nine director of network scheduling Geoffrey Dyer said the broadcaster is “open to opportunities” to make local content.

He said: “We haven’t commissioned anything [with Discovery] jointly yet. But we are definitely scanning to try and find some of those sorts of shows just to give the channel a bit of a local feel.”

The launch of the new multi-channel couldn’t come at a better time for Nine, albeit somewhat morosely.

With sporting events being called off across the globe, there is a gap in content for male audiences.

Turner said: “The fact there’s no sport on at the moment it seems like it’d be the best time and ample opportunities to launch this.

“It’s kind of a bit of a perfect storm in an imperfect world at this point in time. Launching at a time where there is no sport on free-to-air or anywhere in the world, though clearly, it wasn’t part of the strategy, it’s a good time.”

And, the fact the content being launched was previously sitting behind a paywall, spells good news for Nine.

Turner said: “What we find is when content that has sat behind a paywall and not been exposed to a free to air audience, there’s a big percentage of people who haven’t seen it. It actually drives really good viewing.

“I think we’re just excited to see a new channel pop up targeting males 25-54s off and exposing these world-class brands to an audience who haven’t had the opportunity to watch them before.”

9Rush will launch 7.00pm on Sunday, April 5 with the exclusive premiere of the new series of Top Gear UK, featuring Australia’s favourite British import, Freddie Flintoff (who is part of the commentary team on Australian Ninja Warrior).

Some of the other shows to launch on 9Rush include: Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail, Street Outlaws, Live PD, Kindig Customs, Alaskan Bush People, Running Wild with Bear Grylls and Man vs Wild.

 

 

 

Please login with linkedin to comment

9rush Nine

Latest News

Former Politician Scott Emerson To Host 4BC’s New Drive Program
  • Media

Former Politician Scott Emerson To Host 4BC’s New Drive Program

Brisbane radio is set for a further shake-up with journalist and former MP Scott Emerson to host 4BC’s new local Drive program. Emerson is a highly experienced broadcaster and journalist who served as The Australian newspaper’s Queensland bureau chief and held senior journalism positions with the ABC. He has also served in the Queensland parliament and […]

FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk into a Woolworths supermarket in Sydney, Australia August 22, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed
  • Marketing

Woolworths & News Corp Partner To Aid Local Food Charities During CV-19

News Corp Australia and Woolworths today announced a joint national campaign to support Feed Appeal amid a sharp jump in the number of Australians suffering economic hardship from COVID-19 and seeking food relief. Feed Appeal, a national not-for-profit organisation that provides capacity and capability grants to local food relief charities, has reported a 50 percent […]

Change Your Plans. Your Audience Already Did
  • Opinion

Change Your Plans. Your Audience Already Did

Is it too early to start planning your holiday campaigns? Definitely not, argues Pinterest CMO Andréa Mallard in this piece. Brands love reaching their most passionate customers. As a former retail CMO myself, I get it. When you reach early planners, you reach the CEOs of the household—an audience that buys and spends more. Reach […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
The Key To Understanding Your Competitors
  • Opinion

The Key To Understanding Your Competitors

Do you love to prank call your competitors in a phoney Turkmenistan accent? Well, there's some top tips here for you.

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Stateside Sports Selects Emarsys For CDP Technology
  • Technology

Stateside Sports Selects Emarsys For CDP Technology

Stateside Sports, Australia’s home of United States sports lifestyle, has partnered with Emarsys, the only omnichannel customer engagement platform built to accelerate business outcomes, as it looks to double its customer database and retail presence within the next two years.